taraweeh

Getting ready for Ramadan….Beyond stockpiling the freezer!

With two weeks to go before the start of Ramadan, I began some planning for this special month of mercy and forgiveness. Planning involving taking actions to be in the best space for maximum gains. As given are already self isolating, being home and with no distractions about going out – I feel we already have a headstart!

For many years, I found that I would consider myself ready for Ramadan once I had containers of savouries in the freezer, and a pantry filled with ingredients to make traditional desserts and dishes we especially enjoy in this month (sometimes to the extent of mandating it!)

But if the purpose of this month is to develop Allah Consciousness (“taqwa” in Arabic) as Allah says in the Quran (2:183)
“O you who believe fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you can learn Taqwa” 
Taqwa includes Allah fearing, piety, and self restraining. An opportunity to turn things around. To become closer to Allah and to learn more about ourselves by learning more about Him. It involves doing lots of good to please Allah. And to exit the month with more than we entered – physically, spiritually, emotionally and mentally.

Which is why I drew up this chart – to remind myself about adopting a “holistic approach” to welcoming the Holy Month of Ramadan. Looking at all ACTIONS necessary to make the month as productive as possible. Here it is:

Holistic Approach to preparing for Ramadan. Please SHARE

Physical and Practical
This is usually my starting point. I would look at the key dates such as when do we start fasting and when is Eid and jot them into my calendar and diary. This would give me an indication of what else is going on around Ramadan (for example any appointments, meetings etc). It also gives me a good jolt into how much time is left for preparations before the start of the month! 

Next step is to plan what food preparation is needed. Without the convenience of abundant home made savouries and delicious chutney dips like we get in South Africa, if I want anything like what I am used to back home (such as samoosas or pies!) here in Istanbul, I better make it all myself (or do without it as I have in some years. Borek will have to do!). So this year where I could I used two evenings to do some preparations and I’m calling it a day.

A tip I learnt from my dear mother was to also do any Eid shopping such as clothes and gifts before Ramadan. That way you are not using precious Ramadan minutes running around with these activities! Also you can avoid the crowds. This year given the lockdown situation, I really don’t know what Eid will be like so holding on with any gift planning till things are more clear.

Lastly in this area is setting up the environment at home – putting up some exciting decorations, involving the kids in some crafts- all with the intention of creating a positive spirit and love for this beautiful month for the whole family. We have already started talking about Ramadan parties, so my little one is amped!

Mental Readiness
Setting a real focused intention immediately puts me in the right space. Reading up on the benefits of fasting, and listening to a few great speakers on the blessings of this month are great reminders about why I need to maximise on stacking up reward. 

If there are any habits I want to change, I might start working on them now, weeks before we start fasting. This year, I aim to give up on junk shows (at least!) on Netflix. I actually enjoy documentary style shows so I have already started switching to that instead. In Ramadan, I would aim to watch nothing at all. It always amazes me how I am able to detox in this way so easily, and occupy my time with extra prayer -or just rest.

Closer to the start of Ramadan I would begin my “fasting focus”, and do my best to clear my mind of all other peripherals – binge chats, binge Instagram scrolling, anything else taking me away from the sole purpose of this month – worshipping Allah and gaining closeness to Him.

This mental focus is so important as it sets the tone for the last pillar. We cannot pray in the sincerest way we are meant to if our mind is still cluttered with other things. I mentally put on hold anything extra that can wait for after the four weeks- so my mind has clarity and space.

Spiritual
The focus of the month will be on my soul- to uplift myself in a deep spiritual way Insha Allah. Usually this involves goals for completing recitation of the Quran, listening to tafseer, revising previously memorised surahs. I really enjoy understanding what I read in Quran so for this I have begun at least listening to (and often making notes though I do need to revise more so its more entrenched), the tafseer from leading scholars on the verses of Quran we read most often – for example starting with Surah Yaseen, Surah Kahf, and the last 20 surahs in Quran which are the ones I would read in my Salaatul Taraweeh every night. 

Other great resources I have come to love has been the daily 20 minute lectures that some scholars give live after Taraweeh salaah. My favourite being Ramadan Gems  and Ramadan Nightly Reminders (Mufti Menk). These are all available on demand on YouTube if you miss it live. It is centred around a theme such as Stories from Quran, or Stories about the Messengers, making it compelling listening to complete the full picture. Great learning.

So as you can see, if we start to break down all the aspects to consider in preparing for this month Insha Allah, there’s so much more beyond hanging up decor or stock piling the freezer!

 How far are you with preparations for this beautiful month? And which aspects do you focus on?


Wishing you all a productive Ramadan, filled with barakah and blessings
Taskeen

Creating the Ramadan Spirit : The largest Iftaar picnic in Istanbul

My dream came true this year Alhamdulillah, when I got to visit Turkey’s famous Blue Mosque during the Muslim blessed month of Ramadan.

I have been living in Istanbul for 2 years, but have yet to experience this special month, or Eid in Istanbul as I have been travelling each year during this month. Before I moved here, my husband visited the vibrant Sultanahmet area during Ramadan, and spoke excitedly about the buzzing atmosphere there, and all my dreams about what Ramadan would be like in Turkey centred around this! So this year, when I could not feel much of a Ramadan vibe, or even see any change in lifestyle like people around me fasting or preparing for iftaar etc I couldnt help but feel a tad bit disappointed. I understood it was probably mostly down to the fact that I live in a largely secualr part of Istanbul (Besiktas). I knew that if I wanted to feel the Ramadan spirit, I would have to inject it myself, and that is what I have done by takig on ccertain iniatives like iftaar picnics and attending mass community iftaars (Read all about it in my previous posts).

One of the most exciting events for me in Ramadan this year though, was the iftaar picnic we had at the Blue Mosque, in Sultanahmet. We arrived at least an hour and a half before Maghrib salaah (dusk prayers), and already the large square, grassy patchy areas outside the musjid courtyard were filling up with what must be several thousand people by the end of the evening. There was a massive stage set up with a beautiful set for some speakers who were hosting a programme (Didn’t get what it was about as it was in Turkish!), but there were also some captivating salawat being read at one stage, which was lovely to listen to – or just have playing in the background as a treat to my subconscious mind!

We met a bunch of our friends there, and found a great spot to lay down our mats and our food to settle down before it was time to open our fast. The kids had a great time running around, enjoying being outside. there were lots of families, some really geared up with fold up tables and pots to cook Turkish cay (tea). It seemed like this was a regular event in any Turkish families calendar  – coming out here to break their fast together, in one of the most significant places in Istanbul- Sultanahmet square.

Before iftaar, I walked around the square to the pop up market that was set up – similar to the ‘Christmas Markets’ in most cities in Europe- this was Turkeys equivalent -the ‘Eid market‘ – rows of art/ craft stalls in wooden cabins as well as food stalls selling traditional Turkish Ramadan specialities such as “Ottoman sherbat” – a refreshing syrup drink made from a mix of flower extracts, fruits or herbs.

Eid Markets in Sultanahmet square

A few minutes before Maghrib (dusk prayers), we settled down on our picnic mats in the open air, under the dark sky and when we heard the beautiful adhaan from the Blue Mosque, opened our fasts together, passing around dates, water and fruit.

Largest iftaar picnic in Turkey

For the main meal, we shared around the dishes we brought from home (including being treated to delicious Indian food from a nearby restaurant!). Afterwards, we headed over to pray Maghrib salaah at the Blue Mosque. There was no jamaah (congregation)  for Maghrib (now expected- see my previous posts!) and it was quite crowded (also expected!) so we prayed in the courtyard which had rows of mats laid out. Theres just something about musjid courtyards that I love – like Masjid Nabawee in Madinah – always so peaceful to pray or relax in.

To end the evening we walked around again this time to find some Turkish cay (tea) and I tasted  “güllaç” for  the first time ( a Turkish dessert made with milk, pomegranate and a special kind of pastry especially consumed especially during Ramadan). By now the Taraweeh prayers had started and we could hear the beautiful recitation through the loudspeakers. Families still milled around, relaxing during the pleasant evening. The sad tradeoff we made when choosing to have iftaar in Sultanahmet was that we would have to commute back home (1 hour journey) during Taraweeh prayers jamaah, in order to get our little one home at a reasonable bed time, and therefore pray our salaah at home instead of together at the musjid.

Nonetheless, this was a spectacular experience and for me, Alhamdulillah truly captured the essence of Ramadan – sharing, unity, enjoying fulfilling our islamic obligations, being spiritual together – and a bonus – experiencing a new part of Istanbul life!

Injecting Ramadan spirit, one magical instance at a time,
M4D